Wild Big Cat Colour Variants

akasha

akasha

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
A melanistic leopard cub has been observed in Ol Pejeta Reserve, Kenya. Black leopards are extremely rare in Africa. The melanistic individuals photographed at Loisaba Conservancy, Kenya in late 2018 were the first confirmed sighting since 1909. A young female and adult male have been observed there.

I’m curious about other wild cases of mutant big cats. I know of a few examples, and would love to hear about others :)

-White lions in Kruger. There is currently an adult male, Casper, in Kruger, as well as a young male and female with the Birmingham Pride. The female was recently observed mating. Another young cub was spotted in a litter with two tawnys in late October this year.

-There is currently a young lioness with the Birmingham Pride with blue eyes. Being the same pride as the whites, I assume she is exhibiting minimal leucism.

-Ginger the erythristic lion in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. Ginger lacks black pigment making his appearance golden. He has a pink nose and pink pads on his paws. Born in 2008 into the Luwi Pride, he dispersed in 2011 with 3 other males. During the next 4 years he was rarely seen, then in 2015 he returned with Garlic, another Luwi male born in 2010. Together Ginger and Garlic took over the Big Pride. I’m not sure what has happened to him since 2019.

-There is currently a male lion in Kruger that appears to exhibit similar colouring to Ginger. He has a golden coat and pink nose. He is associated with the Birmingham Pride, so may carry the same/similar genes as the whites.

-Golden tabby tiger. An adult female was photographed in Kaziranga National Park, India in July 2020. She was photographed again in May 2022. She is believed to be the only one of her kind in the wild.

-White tigers. In early 2017 two sub-adult brothers were photographed in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, India.

-Pseudo-melanistic tigers. Simlipal Tiger Reserve, India.

-Melanistic jaguar. Two were caught on camera trap in Panama’s Mamoní Valley last year. There are three other records in Panama.

-Melanistic leopard. Observed in Tadoba National Park, India in 2020.

(I also saw a report about a possible King Cheetah in Kruger in 2021.)
 
akasha said:
A melanistic leopard cub has been observed in Ol Pejeta Reserve, Kenya. Black leopards are extremely rare in Africa. The melanistic individuals photographed at Loisaba Conservancy, Kenya in late 2018 were the first confirmed sighting since 1909. A young female and adult male have been observed there.

I’m curious about other wild cases of mutant big cats. I know of a few examples, and would love to hear about others :)

-White lions in Kruger. There is currently an adult male, Casper, in Kruger, as well as a young male and female with the Birmingham Pride. The female was recently observed mating. Another young cub was spotted in a litter with two tawnys in late October this year.

-There is currently a young lioness with the Birmingham Pride with blue eyes. Being the same pride as the whites, I assume she is exhibiting minimal leucism.

-Ginger the erythristic lion in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. Ginger lacks black pigment making his appearance golden. He has a pink nose and pink pads on his paws. Born in 2008 into the Luwi Pride, he dispersed in 2011 with 3 other males. During the next 4 years he was rarely seen, then in 2015 he returned with Garlic, another Luwi male born in 2010. Together Ginger and Garlic took over the Big Pride. I’m not sure what has happened to him since 2019.

-There is currently a male lion in Kruger that appears to exhibit similar colouring to Ginger. He has a golden coat and pink nose. He is associated with the Birmingham Pride, so may carry the same/similar genes as the whites.

-Golden tabby tiger. An adult female was photographed in Kaziranga National Park, India in July 2020. She was photographed again in May 2022. She is believed to be the only one of her kind in the wild.

-White tigers. In early 2017 two sub-adult brothers were photographed in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, India.

-Pseudo-melanistic tigers. Simlipal Tiger Reserve, India.

-Melanistic jaguar. Two were caught on camera trap in Panama’s Mamoní Valley last year. There are three other records in Panama.

-Melanistic leopard. Observed in Tadoba National Park, India in 2020.

(I also saw a report about a possible King Cheetah in Kruger in 2021.)
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There have been a few melanistic tigers seen decades ago before the numbers were reduced as they are today. I believe there are a small number in some Indian museums
 
@akasha You may find something online about possible skins in the Calcutta museum having at least 1 skin.

Wiki has some information regarding them if that helps.
 
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akasha said:
-White tigers. In early 2017 two sub-adult brothers were photographed in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, India.
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Interesting as I never heard about this at the time. The report seems to indicate only one of them was white (or 'pale') and the other a normal-coloured one. They refer to it as 'pale' rather than 'white' and identify a difference, but from the photos it resembles very much to me the other traditional white tigers we know so well.

I wonder if there has been any follow-up on these particular animals.
 
While not big cats there are some interesting pics available of melanistic Servals on the net.
 
Pertinax said:
Interesting as I never heard about this at the time. The report seems to indicate only one of them was white (or 'pale') and the other a normal-coloured one. They refer to it as 'pale' rather than 'white' and identify a difference, but from the photos it resembles very much to me the other traditional white tigers we know so well.

I wonder if there has been any follow-up on these particular animals.
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A few months after that sighting, the two white brothers were photographed together and their sister was normal-coloured. I haven’t been able to find anything about them beyond that, but I would be interested to know what became of them.
 
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akasha said:
A few months after that sighting, the two white brothers were photographed together and their sister was normal-coloured. I haven’t been able to find anything about them beyond that, but I would be interested to know what became of them.
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Thanks for adding a new photo. It seems they are indeed 'pale' and not quite as pure white in ground colour as all the other White tigers. Slightly sandier body colour. Eyes a bit darker also.
 
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